Sports
Phillies have room for improvement going into series against Dodgers
Jun 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) enters the field before the game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images After a rocky performance in the All-Star Game, Cristopher Sanchez hopes to look more like himself Monday when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series.
With the Midsummer Classic held in Philadelphia, Sanchez (11-4, 2.62 ERA) was selected by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to start the game in front of his home fans. However, the talented left-hander allowed three runs in a shaky first inning as the National League went on to lose to the American League 4-0.
“Just a sign of respect to the fans,” Sanchez said of his pregame salute to the crowd. “A little payback for all the love that they gave me on such an important day, both for me and for the fan base.”
Sanchez has made two starts this month, not counting the All-Star Game, and has allowed 11 runs and 22 hits in 10 1/3 innings.
He has started four times in his career against the Dodgers, going 2-0 with a 4.01 ERA. Additionally, Sanchez started twice against Los Angeles in last year’s National League Division Series, posting a 2.25 ERA, although the Phillies lost both games — and the series in four.
Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81) will get the ball for the Dodgers in his second career start against the Phillies. He held them to one run in 5 2/3 innings in a regular-season matchup last September, and then Sheehan made a pair of appearances out of the bullpen in the NLDS, yielding two runs in three innings.
More recently, Sheehan closed his first half on July 12 with a solid outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He gave up three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven in a 101-pitch effort.
“I’m happy with the work we’ve put in to try to get back to the point we’re at now, and the process of it all,” Sheehan said. “I think we’re in a good spot with what we know we need to work on.”
This outing will mark the first time since June 1 that Sheehan has started on a day other than Sunday. He’ll take the mound against a Philadelphia lineup that struggled to produce in Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the New York Mets.
The Phillies managed only six hits (four singles) in that one and struck out 14 times in dropping the rubber game of the weekend set. Alan Rangel allowed five runs in the first two innings, creating a hole that the offense was unable to dig out of.
“You’re managing that game, trying to get through it, and then you’re trying to keep guys available for (Monday),” said Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly. “Hopefully, we’re in a good situation (Monday) with (Sanchez), keeping guys available. We were kind of able to do that.”
Los Angeles split a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, posting an 8-2 victory over New York in the opener before dropping a 2-1 decision in the nightcap. The Dodgers went with a bullpen game in Game 2 and ended up using seven pitchers.
Eventually, Evan Phillips allowed the decisive homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the eighth inning.
“It’s a long day, but it’s the life we chose,” said Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts. “At the end of the night, it’s baseball. We’ve got a bus ride tonight and we’ve got to be ready for Sanchez tomorrow. So it doesn’t get (any) easier.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Salvador Perez ties Royals all-time HR mark in sweep of Giants
Jul 22, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo (67) throws a pitch in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images Salvador Perez’s two-run shot tied the Royals’ all-time franchise home run record and highlighted a five-run seventh inning as Kansas City rallied to sweep a three-game home series over the San Francisco Giants with a 5-4 win Wednesday.
Kansas City managed just two hits against San Francisco starter Landen Roupp through six innings, when it trailed 3-0. However, Vinnie Pasquantino opened the bottom of the seventh with a double, where he was deemed to be pushed off second base by San Francisco’s Willy Adames on the tag. Giants manager Tony Vitello was ejected after arguing the call.
Perez then followed by matching George Brett’s club record of 317 home runs, ending Roupp’s day with a 437-foot drive that landed into the fountains over the right-center-field wall. Perez took a curtain call, and the milestone ignited a rally that would help the Royals complete a 5-1 homestand.
Kansas City starter Seth Lugo (4-6) allowed three runs, three hits and two walks over seven innings, while Steven Cruz overcame yielding Casey Schmitt’s solo homer in the ninth for his first career save.
Following Perez’s homer, San Francisco’s Sam Hentges (1-3) replaced Roupp. Hentges threw wildly to first on an infield single by Michael Massey, who eventually scored the tying run when pinch hitter Nick Loftin dropped a single into left off Keaton Winn. The Royals loaded the bases with two outs, and Lane Thomas delivered a tiebreaking two-run single to right-center field for a 5-3 lead.
Lugo allowed just a Rafael Devers’ double through the first five innings. Meanwhile, Roupp surrendered only a third-inning bunt single to Andrew Velazquez in the same span.
Lugo walked Adames to open the sixth, then hit Drew Gilbert. Both runners advanced on Drew Cavanaugh’s sacrifice bunt, and Adames scored via Luis Arraez’s flyout to center.
The Giants added on in the seventh. Devers drew a one-out walk, then after Schmitt struck out, he scored from first on Jung Hoo Lee’s double. Adames followed with a run-scoring ground-rule double to make it 3-0.
Roupp was charged with two runs, while striking out seven, in six innings as the Giants lost their fifth straight contest.
The Royals placed All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (lower back tightness) on the 10-day injured list for the first time in his five-year career.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals' Salvador Perez hits 317th homer, ties George Brett's club mark
Jul 21, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez (13) celebrates after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Kansas City’s Salvador Perez clubbed a two-run shot in the seventh inning on Wednesday to tie George Brett’s Royals franchise record of 317 career home runs.
Perez’s 437-foot blast in a 5-4 home win over the San Francisco Giants went to the fountains beyond the wall in right-center. The homer off right-hander Landen Roupp pulled the Royals within 3-2.
Perez, who has played all 15 of his major league seasons with Kansas City, has hit three of his 14 homers this season in the last five games.
In an on-field postgame interview, Perez said he was honored to be in the same category as Brett, the Hall of Famer who excelled for the Royals from 1973-93.
“Everybody knows what George Brett did here for this city,” Perez said. “To be (tied with) a Hall of Famer, I’m certainly excited, too.”
Perez, 36, is batting just .211 with 43 RBIs in 95 games this season. He is a nine-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove catcher.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Scottie Scheffler heads field, makes debut at Minnesota's 3M Open
Jul 19, 2026; Southport, ENG; Scottie Scheffler lines up a putt on the ninth green during the final round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Scottie Scheffler wasn’t about to take three weeks off before the FedEx Cup playoffs commence.
The World No. 1 golfer chose to fly from England to Minnesota and compete for the first time at the 3M Open, where he’ll be far and away the favorite when the tournament tees off Thursday in Blaine, Minn.
Scheffler missed the weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open — his first missed cut in about four years — before tying for fourth at the Open Championship last week at Royal Birkdale. There are three tournaments to go before the playoffs, and while Scheffler certainly doesn’t need a points boost as he leads the FedEx Cup standings, he didn’t want rust to gather.
“This is a tournament that I haven’t played before, so excited to be here,” Scheffler said. “This might be my first time in Minnesota. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually been to this state before.
“For me it was good scheduling. Like I said, we had two weeks in the UK, and three weeks off before the Playoffs didn’t seem like the most ideal way to set up my schedule. This was a tournament that I’ve heard a lot of good things about and so far everything seems pretty true, which is nice. So I’m excited to get the week started and yeah, play some golf.”
Most players of Scheffler’s caliber are taking at least one week off after the UK swing. That leaves the Texan as the most notable player at TPC Twin Cities by a mile. He’s the +260 favorite to win at DraftKings and +275 to win at BetMGM; defending champion Kurt Kitayama is a distant second at +2400 and +2500, respectively.
The thing is, Scheffler went 0-for-4 at the majors for the first time since 2023 and has not won a tournament of any stripe since January. He’s atop the FedEx Cup standings despite that.
“One of the things I like in this game, one of the things that I’ve always kind of prided myself on is the consistency,” he said. “That’s something that shows that I’m playing some pretty good golf. It just hasn’t been quite good enough to win some tournaments.
“I haven’t played any great golf yet, but I’ve played some nice golf over the course of the season.”
Last year, Kitayama squeaked into the weekend at 6-under-par when the cut line was at 5 under. He proceeded to fire an 11-under 60 on Saturday and a 65 on Sunday to win by one stroke over Sam Stevens.
Kitayama posted a remarkable 13 birdies in 18 holes on the front nine of the third and fourth rounds.
“I feel like I had a few more wedges maybe on the front nine,” Kitayama recalled. “I hit those close on the weekend. Back nine maybe (played) a little tougher. You know, coming down the stretch, maybe (played) a little more conservative.”
Other notables in the field include Scottish Open champion Tom Kim of South Korea, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Max Homa and Canada’s Corey Conners. They’ll take on a par-71, 7,431-yard track that has produced winning scores in the high teens or low 20s under par most years since the tournament’s inception in 2019.
Aaron Wise, a former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, will continue his comeback after taking off nearly two full years to address his mental health. After missing his first six cuts of 2026, he’s made his last three, including a T3 finish at the ISCO Championship and a T15 at the Corales Puntacana Championship, alternate events opposite the Scottish and The Open.
“It’s just a matter of … the days are stressful, so how do you then calm yourself down, how do you even deal with the stress as the day’s going on,” Wise said. “Keeping your mind in a good frame to where you feel like you can go keep hitting good shots and keep playing well, and on top of it, enjoying it.
“Even though it’s stressful, we’re supposed to like being out here. We started playing golf because we love the game.”
–Field Level Media
Salvador Perez ties Royals all-time HR mark in sweep of Giants
Royals' Salvador Perez hits 317th homer, ties George Brett's club mark
